The Trip
by MadDog90
Summary: Our main character Gustop is going to fly to Minmus and beyond.
1. The Interview

When Jeb and the scientists show up for interviews I made sure to be in the very front of the line. At promptly 7:30 the interviews began, Jeb greeted me and asked me to sit down. At first it seemed as is an eternity had passed before anyone had spoken. Finally, one of the scientists asked, "What do you think makes you the right Kerbal Engineer for the position?"

I replied, "To start off I am the head engineer and the ship that you're going up in was designed and partially built by me. Which brings me to my next point of if something breaks which is not likely I will know the ship inside and out."

"Good point," Jeb began, "But will you be a little... ah how to put this... attached to the rocket. You do know what we're doing with the pieces that we don't need on the capsule right?"

"No," I replied.

"We are going to send them into each body we are near to. Then when the pieces journey comes to an end the data recorders will send information to us to be sent back to KSP," one of the scientists answered.

I replied, "Yes I am fully aware of what you plan to do with the parts and I am completely fine with that.

"Well then... I think we have heard enough... please take a brochure on your way out and we will meet you in the astronaut complex," Jeb asserted.

"I will be there," I replied.


	2. Waiting

It took 2 hours to finish the interviews by the time they were done there was about 50 other Kerbins. When I saw the sheer number I thought that I would not make the cut. One by one Kerbins were escorted into an office room and never returned to the complex. I was the last one to be summoned. When I entered Jeb and the three scientist were waiting standing up. Jeb announced, "Gustop welcome aboard. You're training will begin tomorrow at 7:00 AM sharp." "I will be there, thank you for this amazing opportunity I won't let you down!" I exclaimed. When I arrived at the training facility Jeb loaded everybody into a capsule and put us through conditioning to make our journey through space. Then, we went and inspected our rocket and probe for our launch scheduled in two days. After the others had left I went and did a full body inspection. My adrenaline is pounding throughout my body. I can't wait for launch. 


	3. Launch

The two days flew by and before I knew it we were on a shuttle to the launch-pad. When we get of the bus we begin the climb up to the research lab while Jeb ascends to the cockpit. We begin taking notes to compare results from Kerbin to other planets and Kerbins two moons. After we finished writing down the data and sent it to the database to be processed. One of the scientists named radioed Jeb and told him we were locked in and ready to go. No more than fifteen seconds had passed before we hear the countdown. 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1 then a loud roar filled the lab and we were moving. 


	4. Eve

About 15 minutes later we had been informed by Jeb that we were in an orbit around Kerbin. Then he said, "We will be in orbit for a while before we can get to a good spot to intercept with Mun." It has been about 2 days before we began to move away from Kerbin and to Mun. Once we reached Mun Bill dropped the probe into Mun we immediately began to receive data and began recording when the probe crashed we moved on to Minmus and began the same process. We then left for Eve. We had spent almost a month staring at blackness before Eve came into view we began our descent into the outer atmosphere and aero braked to land. We descended on top of one of Eves tallest mountains. Landing gear lowered lights on and speed slow, we were ready to land. When we touched down we began taking notes and sending data. Jeb deployed the communication dish and extended the solar panels. Well Eve looks like you are going to be my new home for a while. The land looks perfect, but it is so so hot. Even the thermometer can't read the temperature it is so hot. Unfortunately we landed during summer so this is the warmest it is going to get. 


	5. Ocean

Before anyone could get out I had to make sure the lander was safe to get off. As I hopped out of the rocket the sheer vastness of the planet began to sink in. After I finished making sure that the rocket was safe all five of us hopped out of our rocket. Jeb planted the flag while the scientists took soil and liquid samples. I was in charge of the rocket, make sure the communication disk was open and communicating, and extend the solar panels.

Several days passed before the mobile science lab was sent. As the lab landed we began to move research equipment to the lab and put in the coordinates of the rocket so we know how to get back. After we boarded the lab we went to one of Eves oceans. As the lab ground to a halt all of us got of and began taking liquid samples and began to process the data. We stayed by the ocean for quite a while and continued to take samples from soil near the ocean and farther away.


	6. Further Deveopment

When Jeb began to relocate us to one of Eves flatland's our rover continually took soil sample while the four of us began processing and sending the data back to the satellite that came with the rover to be sent back to Kerbin. Every now and then a wheel would groan under the immense weight of the lab at night we would rest to reduce the strain on the batteries.

So far we have traveled several hundred kilometers to reach another ocean. By the time we were about fifty kilometers out we began taking soil samples once more. When we reached the other ocean we began to control the data satellite to send data to the communication satellite orbiting Kerbin. After we sent the data we began the same process for all of the soil samples. All of a sudden the ocean liquid content came back. There was something very familiar about the atomic structure of the liquid.


	7. Kethane

AHA! Kethane! That's what that stuff was! You see Kerbals use kethane to as a fuel source for rockets, but pure kethane is almost non-existent. So as expected the kethane on Eve had several other liquids mixed in. Oh well we can still refine it into pure kethane but it will take longer and cost more, but it will be worth it. We send our discovery to Kerbin immediately, as of now we have collected enough data to go home.

We begin our several thousand kilometer trek back to our rocket and begin to send all data stored in our lab back to Kerbin. Finally, after 4 days we reach our ship and begin to prepare it for launch. There is one small problem... we don't have enough fuel to make it back to orbit much less Kerbin. Jeb lets KSP know that we are in dire need for fuel and food. They said they'd send a kethane refinery over with some food.

About a month passed before the refinery landed at our station by then we could hardly move. Before we could think about leaving we had to get some food into our ravished stomach. After around an hour of eating we began to put together the refinery and than moved it into Eves ocean. Jeb flicked the remote control operating system on and a slight whirr was buzzing all around us.

As the tanks built into the refinery filled up with the purest kethane there is we needed more tanks to fill and ship back to Kerbin. But first we must make it our priority to begin our journey back home.


	8. Returning Home

After we filled the tanks from Kerbin we began to fill up our rocket. Filling the fuel tanks for the rocket was really crucial for the fact that if we have a lot of fuel we won't be able to fly out of Eve's thick atmosphere, too little and we can't make it home. So when we tested the weight and atmosphere ratios we were good for takeoff. But first I need to extend the communication disk and retract the solar panels. Once I completed the task we clambered into our capsule and Jeb went up to the pod. After a moment Jeb flicked a switch and the rocket ignited while we prepare the ship for flight Jeb tells mission control that we are on our way out of Eve. After Jeb was done I flicked a switch and retracted the communication disk and then the engines roared to life. It took FOREVER to get going but once we reached an altitude of about 45,000 meters we began to pick up speed. At last Kerbin here I come!

As we left Eve's atmosphere I look out the window and I see the purple giant fade into the distance. When we reached a safe orbit around the Sun we deployed our solar panels and just in the nick of time our batteries were nearly depleted. We orbited the Sun for quite a while before we were in a correct position to Hohmann transfer to Kerbin. After about 120 days we turned our ship and burned and had an intercept course with Kerbin.


	9. Kerbin

As we enter Kerbin's sphere of influence we begin to adjust our orbit so it is level with the space station and begin to shrink our orbit so that we can aero-brake through the Kerbin atmosphere things got a bit bumpy as we began our re-entry for we had done a re-entry to Eve which was about 1000˚ warmer then on Kerbin. Hopefully the heat shield holds up to the heat. All of a sudden a loud bang pierces the lab. We begin to shake, the heat shield did not with stand the heat. We are forced to enter nose down to prevent the lab from blowing up. After several painstaking minuets we are into Kerbin atmosphere. After a while we deploy the parachutes and begin to slow down the craft. 1,000 feet up the landing gear are deployed and locked into position. With a faint roar Jeb increased the rockets power. We wondered why he did that after a moment we understood we were coming in to fast at 500 we had the rocket going full speed no luck. Shortly after the fuel ran out the parachutes deployed to the full size our speed decreased exponentially as it turned out we are going to make it! About 5 minuets we touchdown on Kerbin. FINALLY, home at last I can't wait to kiss my beautiful wife and kids.


	10. Data Collection

After we were hustled off of the still hot ship we hopped into the same shuttle bus that almost 3-4 years ago put us on this rocket. All of the crew had a nostalgic felling when we boarded the bus. We are the first Kerbals to reach another planet. As soon as we get to the astronaut complex we hop off of the bus. I am the last one off of the bus and I was immediately greeted by my wife and kids, Lorrine (my wife), Billy, and George (my kids). Before I could return to my normal life as an engineer I had a mountain of paperwork to fill out. After around an hour the crew and I were herded into a training camp for our bodies to readjust to Kerbin's gravity. After a day of training, I finally was able to head home.


	11. Epilogue

Gustop Kerman was thrown a party by his fellow engineers to commemorate the first engineer to go to space. His Children married and he had a total of 8 Grandchildren. He also had 4 Great-Grandchildren before he died at age 95, 45 years after he left for eve. Gustop survived on his entire family along with his fellow engineers. During his life after his mission Gustop's legs and arms began to shut down. By age 90 Gustop was wheelchair bound. All though their family was very financially gifted when Gustop's medical bills began to rise he wanted a disability benefit from the Space Program but never received one until 2 months after his death. Gustop was a medical mystery to Dr. Von Kerman. Soon after Gustop's injuries were reported, Jeb, Bill, and Bob had also suffered injuries similar to Gustop's only not as severe. Since then very few Kerbal's have gone into space. After word of Gustop's death Dr. Von Kerman deemed the ailment Gustop Space Syndrome.


End file.
